Sawmill Boiler Explosion Nearly Killed My Second Great-Grandfather

Joseph S. Ramer and Rachael Barbara Reed Ramer

My second great-grandfather Joseph Sylvester Ramer (1832-1900) was a Pennsylvania lumberman. In 1887, he was injured in a sawmill boiler explosion that made headlines across the state. My grandfather Lynne O. Ramer referred to the incident in his writing.

Altoona Times, March 18, 1887



The York Daily, March 18, 1887


The Cambria Freeman, March 25, 1887

Pittsburgh Daily Post, March 18, 1887



I also discovered a Dec. 8, 1896, article in the Altoona Tribune about a Joseph Ramer, lumberman, who was shot in Gallitzin, PA while collecting money! This was Joseph's son Joseph Karner Ramer (1864-1940).

Dec. 15 it reported that he was doing nicely.

And on Dec. 21, he was discharged.

Rachael Barbara Reed Ramer

See photos of Pennsylvania lumbering camps in the late 19th c at Slate Magazine
https://slate.com/human-interest/2016/09/photographs-of-william-t-clarke-capture-life-in-pennsylvania-s-lumbering-camps-in-the-late-19th-century.html